Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for detecting anomalies in a fluid supply system, in particular a network distributing newtonian fluids, even more particularly for water distribution, but also for example in urban heating and/or air conditioning networks.
Description of the Related Art
The operational performance is at the center of the management of such networks. The level of performance can be substantially improved using tools for detecting and locating hydraulic anomalies, for example on the drinking water transport and distribution networks.
In such networks, different types of incidents can occur and have serious consequences for the operator. They can be leaks, interruptions of supply to the consumers, component operating faults, handling errors in an intervention or following an intervention, malicious action, abnormal behaviour or malfunction in the home of a consumer.
In very extended and partially inaccessible (buried) networks, direct surveillance is ineffective or often impossible. Nor is surveillance by measuring instruments sufficient, because a local anomaly can have effects on a wide area of the network or even on the entire network, which complicates the diagnostics.
Detection methods are known that are based on statistical techniques. They do not make it possible to characterize either or locate the anomaly.
Other known detection methods are based on hydraulic models using evolutionary algorithms (genetic algorithms) to detect and/or locate anomalies. These evolutionary methods are highly intensive in terms of computation resources, which makes them difficult to apply on a large scale.